God equipped Moses to fulfill his purpose, and He can do the same for you. No matter what He calls you to do, He will provide, direct, strengthen, and empower you to handle every difficulty. Listen as Dr. Stanley talks about all that God will do when we’re willing to obey Him. You can have the faith and confidence to say, “Here am I, send me” (Isa. 6:8).
Dr. Charles Stanley: Well,
the Bible is
a God-centered book,
with a God-centered message,
for God-centered people.
Does that fit you?
Well, a few of you.
Certainly I hope it fits
all of us.
God-centered book,
with a God-centered message,
for God-centered people,
who want to walk in the ways
of God, be obedient to God,
experience the blessings of God,
which is exactly what happens
when we trust Him.
When we come to this book
of Exodus and we begin to see
how God works in people’s lives,
sometimes we think,
“Well, that’s what happened
back yonder.”
No, this book is up-to-date
from Genesis 1:1,
all the way to the last verse
of the Revelation.
It’s the issue is,
do we see the lesson?
Do we see what God is
saying to us?
Because there’s nothing outdated
about the Bible.
If you don’t see it
as a God-centered book
with a God-centered message
for God-centered people,
then what do you do with it?
You put it on the shelf
somewhere and say, “That’s one
of my copies of the Bible.”
But if you see it as a
guidebook, as a way of life,
lessons that apply to all of us
every single day of our life,
then the Bible is
a God-centered book for you.
And there are only two ways
to live: according to the Book,
and forget the Book.
And you understand what happens
when you see people
living their life
with no relationship to God,
no relationship to Christ,
and no interest
in the Word of God.
So, I want you to turn if you
will to this sixth chapter
of Exodus and I just want
to mention a couple of things
here before we get
into the middle of it all.
And they have been to Pharaoh
several times asking to let
the Hebrews go and he said,
“No,” each time.
“Then the Lord said to Moses,
‘Now you will shall see what
I will do to Pharaoh, for under
compulsion he will let them go,
under compulsion he will
drive them out of his land.'”
God spoke further to Moses
and said to him,
“I am the Lord.”
Now, over and over again He says
in this passage of Scripture.
“I am the Lord.
I am the Lord.
I am the Lord.
I am the Lord.”
And God intends to
make a statement
about our relationship to Him,
our relationship to our life.
And what’s the principle?
What is the lesson
from this passage?
What’s God trying to say?
Well, God has a will
for each and every one of us.
And that will is according
to His best plan.
He knows about your abilities,
your talents,
your skills, and whatever.
So, what’s happening here is
that God’s people have been
in bondage all these years
and God has called Moses after
he reached the age of eighty to
confront Pharaoh to let them go.
And naturally,
he doesn’t want to let them go.
They’ve been in bondage and they
have been doing all the work.
So, when we think about this
whole idea of the will of God
for our life, and how He works
in our life, and how
things happen that we think
are just happenstance
are the divine will of God.
And so, when you look at
this passage, I want us to see
a couple of things
that I think apply to all of us.
He says over and over and over
again, “I will, I will, I will.”
And likewise, He says
in this passage again and again,
“I am the Lord.
I am the Lord.
I am the Lord.
I am the Lord.”
Would you agree that God is
the Lord of your life?
Well, a few of you right here
in the middle do.
What, about–
Do you sense God as the Lord
of your life?
That means He’s in control.
You submit to His control
because you want the best
for your life.
And so, here is this awesome
servant of God who grew up
in Egypt in the palace
of Pharaoh himself.
Banished on the other side
of the wilderness, and now
God has said to him at the age
of eighty, I have your most
important work to do.
That should say something
to us about age.
That is, first of all,
retirement’s not in the Bible.
And to start out with, they’re
starting out with Moses at the
age of eighty, it’s
pretty tough.
But he knew He had called him.
And how did he know it?
He made it very clear with
the burning bush.
There was no question about the
fact that God was giving him
a new responsibility
in his life.
And that responsibility seemed
to be absolutely impossible; and
that was free the people of God
from Egyptian bondage.
How could you ever do that?
Only God could do it.
And there may be times in your
life when you feel like God
wants you to do something that
you can’t figure out how
to do it.
Well, God doesn’t leave it up
for us to figure out how to do
His will.
He’s always willing to show us
what to do, how to do it,
and when to do it.
And so, when He says,
“I am the Lord.
I am the Lord, I am the Lord, I
am the Lord,” it’s His way of
saying, “I know what
you’re thinking.
I know what you’re going
to question.
I know that you’re going to
doubt, but remember I am
the Lord.”
Absolute sovereignty over all
things, all times, all people,
and so forth.
So, what I want us to see in
this passage is a few lessons
that are applicable
to all of us.
And there are times in our life
when we wonder what God’s up to.
“And Lord, would You ask me
to do this at this point
in my life?”
And so, this is where Moses
is at this point.
God is saying to him, at the age
of eighty, “I want you to go
back and I’m going to
free your people.
Just trust Me and follow, just
do what I tell you to do.”
So, this is where we get
in trouble.
When we can’t quite figure out
how God wants us to do
something, we hesitate doing it.
And as a result,
what happens is,
we step out of the will of God
and God is not able to
accomplish what He wants
to do in our life.
And I think about a lot of
people who’ve lived half their
life, or most of their life,
or whatever it might be and are
still wondering what God
was up to in their life
when they were born.
The truth is He has a purpose
for every single one of us.
And it’s, it’s a joy to find out
what the purpose is.
Sometimes it’s frightening,
it must have been frightening to
Moses to find out, “You want me
to go back and talk to Pharaoh
about letting the
people know, go?
And God, You know
he’s not going to?”
So, it looked like an impossible
task, but the issue is this.
When He says four times,
“I am the Lord.
I am the Lord.
I am the Lord.
And, I am the Lord,”
He was making a point.
You don’t have to worry about
what the responsibility is going
to be or what the consequences
are going to be.
All you have to
remember is this:
He who sent you is the Lord,
the Sovereign of the universe.
So, when you and I are faced
with situations and
circumstances and we think,
“Well God, You couldn’t be
expecting me to do thus and so.
Remember who’s calling you.
Remember who’s telling you.
Remember who’s talking to you,
that is Almighty God.
And yet, He was asking him
to do something that
appeared impossible.
So, I want us to look at
this in this light.
Whatever God calls you to do,
He assumes full responsibility.
Did you get that?
What did I say?
He assumes full responsibility
for equipping you, enabling you,
supplying you with whatever’s
necessary for you to do
what He calls you to do.
And I think many people miss out
on God’s blessings because they
think, “Well, Lord, here’s what
You’re asking me to do,”
forgetting the fact He would
never ask you to do anything
that He would not equip you
to do, provide for you to do,
whatever that might be.
And what He was asking of Moses
was impossible, from all
human’s point of view.
“You mean, God, You’re asking me
to go back where I was thrown
out of, and asking Pharaoh,
who’s the ruler of the world
as far as they were concerned,
to do anything?”
“Yes, I am.”
Well, think about this.
Be blessed with the very idea
that God would choose
to have you do anything!
In other words, if Almighty God,
the Sovereign of the universe,
decides to ask you to do this
and, or that, or whatever it
might be, be blessed the fact
that He sees within you
the potential.
And with His command, or His
charge, or His responsibility,
His requirement comes all that
is necessary to enable you
to accomplish it
no matter what it is.
So, when you look at it from
that perspective, that Moses had
to think about.
“God, You’re sending me back
where I got thrown out of; and
You’re asking me to do what is
absolutely impossible.”
And over and over and over again
He said to him, “I am the Lord,
I am the Lord, I am the Lord,
I am the Lord.”
So, what is there going on in
your life that you wonder if God
could enable you to do it?
It may be something that’s large
in your eyes, maybe not large in
somebody else’s eyes, but God
has made a request of you.
And so, Here’s the awesome
promise that God made to him.
He said to him, “I will bring
you out from under the burden of
the Egyptians, I will deliver
you from their bondage.
I will also redeem you with an
outstretched arm and with
great judgments.
I will take you for My people,
I will be your God.
I will bring you to the land
which I swore to give to
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
And on, and on, and on He goes.
So, what does God say?
“Here’s what I’ll do.”
But then again in the seventh
chapter in this third verse
what does He say?
He says, “I will harden
Pharaoh’s heart and I will lay
My hand on Egypt and bring out
My hosts, My people the sons of
Israel, from the land of Egypt
by great judgment.”
Now, here is Moses over on the
backside of the desert and
here’s God telling him
something that seems
absolutely impossible.
How many of you believe that
nothing is impossible with God?
How much?
How much?
How much?
Nothing.
Nothing is impossible with God.
So, remember we said
this is a God-centered book.
His message is God-centered.
Everything about it
is God-centered.
So, if that be true, do you
believe that whatever God calls
you to do He’ll enable
you to do it?
Well, a few people down
here in front do.
Think about this.
Do you believe that God will
enable you to do whatever
He requires you to do?
Then, you should be open to
whatever He requires you to do.
Right?
So, why are you hesitating?
It may be God has said something
to you about your job,
about your marriage, your home,
whatever it might be.
Your health?
God is able to equip you,
enable you, give you
whatever is necessary in order
to accomplish His will,
His purpose for your life.
So, He’s committed
Himself to Moses.
“I’m sending you to do
an impossible task.
And I’m going with you.
I am the Lord, I am the Lord,
I am the Lord, I am the Lord
and here’s what I will do.”
And He promises over
and over and over again.
This is why prayer is such
an important part of our life.
Because when you and I humble
ourselves before Him and
get quiet and ask God
to speak to our heart,
what is He going to do?
He’s going to give us direction
for our life.
And with that direction, listen,
that direction may not have
to come but one time.
But, but the reassurance and the
enlarging of our confidence may
come over and over and over
again because He knows that some
things He may require of us,
we just don’t see how
we could do it.
And I think all of us
would agree with with Moses
at this point.
And here he is at a point in his
life that, first of all, he was
banished out of, out of Egypt
and now God is sending him back
and He’s sending him back
to free a whole nation
of about two million people,
and he doesn’t have an army.
He doesn’t have anything
but the Word of God.
And watch this carefully.
That’s all you need to obey
God is His Word.
Watch this.
When He tells you to do
something, with that command is
everything you will possibly
need in order to be
obedient to God.
And oftentimes people head in
the right direction, want to do
what God wants them to do
and because they can’t
figure it out, in other words,
it just doesn’t all add up.
They say, “Well, God, You must
be talking to somebody else.”
Well naturally, naturally Moses
probably thought that,
but notice how God spoke to him.
He spoke to him through a
burning bush that he would
never forget.
He didn’t just whisper
in the dark.
In the burning bush, He said,
“I’m sending you to do
an impossible task.
But I’m going with you and with
Me will be your power, because
I’m going to exercise My power
through you to get it all done.
How many times have we missed
opportunities in life because
we were interpreting the
opportunity in the light of
the way we see ourselves?
Well, I could never do that.
Well, that would never
work for me.
That must be, God must be
speaking to somebody else.
No.
You say, “Well, at this point in
my life, God couldn’t do
thus and so.”
Don’t underestimate what God
can do in your life.
Listen, it may be something that
no one else thinks is fantastic,
but you know in your heart,
being who you are, being where
you came from, being your past
and what’s happening in your
life, it’s an awesome thing.
So, don’t compare God’s command
to you to God’s command
to someone else.
Because God in all His wisdom
knows exactly what you’re
capable of doing and being with
His help, with His strength,
with His guidance, with His
power, with His support,
with His encouragement.
And when you have that,
nothing is impossible.
That is, whatever God requires
of us, watch this, with the
requirement comes everything
necessary to get it done.
And this is why He said to him
four times, “I am the Lord,
I am the Lord, I am the Lord,
I am the Lord.”
And this is why He said to him
in this passage, “I will lay
My hand on Egypt, bring out My
hosts, My people the sons
of Israel, from
the land of Egypt.”
Listen, He said,
by great judgment.
This is–and so He didn’t
tell him a lot, but He says,
“By great judgment I’m going
to do it.”
So, you and I don’t have to
figure out how God is going
to do whatever He wants to do
in our life.
Obey God, and leave
all the consequences to Him.
So, the question is this,
“Do I believe God can handle
all the consequences?”
Yes or no?
If I hesitate to obey Him,
here’s what it says.
I don’t trust Him.
I don’t believe Him.
I don’t think He can handle it.
No.
We trust Him.
If Moses had waited till God had
shown him all the details,
he would never have left
the mountaintop.
But He says, “Here’s what
I’m going to do, trust Me.”
And he trusted Him.
So, when I think about this
passage of Scripture and think
about what he faced and think
about the impossibility of it,
it was possible only because one
man was willing to trust God.
So, wonder what would happen
in your life if you honestly and
truly said today, “Lord, I don’t
know how much time I have left,
but for the rest of it,
I’m going to give it all to You.
I don’t understand
what You’ll do with me.
I don’t understand
how You’ll do it.
I don’t understand with whom
You’d have me to do it.
But Lord, I’m–the rest
of my life belongs to You.
Forgive me for waiting this
long to give it to You,
but the rest of
it belongs to You.
I want to know, Lord,
what could You do in
my life at this point?”
And one of the first things the
devil’s going to say to you is,
“Ahhhhhhh, you’re dreaming.”
No.
What does God want to do
in your life?
Now watch this.
You may be eighty and what God
wants to do in your life may be
through somebody else who’s
twenty, whom God will use to do
an awesome work in the lives
of many other people,
but He started with you.
Don’t underestimate what God is
willing to do in your life.
Because you can’t
figure that out.
And when I read these passages
and read what He says,
“I’m going to lay My hand
on Egypt and bring out My hosts,
My people the sons of Israel
from the land of Egypt
by great judgments.”
The only thing He told him
how He was going to do it,
by great judgments.
That is, I’m going
to judge Egypt.
He would never have figured out
how He was going to do that.
When God wants to accomplish
something, He finds somebody
or some people
through whom He wants to do it.
And the question is this.
Are you living available for God
to choose you to do something
that maybe you never even
thought about before?
Don’t underestimate
what God can do in your life.
Can you imagine first of all,
let’s take a look at
who Moses is.
Born into slavery,
placed in a basket,
placed in the river,
and miraculously ends up
in Pharaoh’s household,
educated with the very best,
and forty years tossed out
of the country,
other side of the desert.
In other words, what a mixed up
messed up life that looked like.
God’s hand was
in it all the way.
He was taking a Hebrew
from among the Hebrews
into a pagan land
and doing what?
Educating him, listen, educating
him not to serve in Egypt.
Educating him to do what?
To spend forty years in the
desert never recognizing that
it was God who put him there.
It was God who kept him there,
and God kept him there long
enough that he had no hope
of anything until God arrived
on the scene.
Watch this.
Never too late to listen to God.
It may be too–it may be
too late for some things,
but it’s never too late
to listen to God.
So, now that he’s eighty,
God uses him in the
most awesome way.
Think about this.
The only thing that Moses
had was a word of God.
All that Pharaoh had was all of
his armies, all of his power,
and all of these
enslaved Hebrews.
So, what could one man do
against all this power
and might?
Nothing, unless God’s with him.
And because he was walking
in the will and the way
and the power of God,
what did he do?
God used one man to absolutely
upset a whole–the most powerful
nation in the world.
And not only that, He not only
freed them, but remember
what He’d told them.
He said, “I’m going to work in
the lives of these Egyptians
so when you leave you’re not
going to leave like you
started out here.
You’re going to leave with their
gold and their silver because
I’m telling you, you’re going
to plunder Egypt.
When I exit you out of Egypt,
you’re coming out wealthy.
You’re coming out with
what they owned.”
They could never have figured
that out.
And probably when Moses was
saying to them, “God’s going to
set you free,” they’re probably
looking around at what little
they had because they
were slaves.
Set us free to do what?
What are we going to have?
And then God set them free, and
He set them free wealthy.
And you say, “Well, then look
what happened to them.
They’re down at the Red Sea
and here comes Pharaoh
and all of his chariots.”
Did that frighten Moses?
No, because Moses, listen,
echoing in his heart and mind,
“I am the Lord, I am the Lord,
I am the Lord, I am the Lord.”
He could never forget it.
He knew he had obeyed God.
But think about that, for those
few hours, maybe, it looked like
it was all a total disaster.
Watch this carefully.
There is no disaster in any man
or any woman’s life
who’s obeying God.
It may look like it,
but it’s not.
Because God is going to
accomplish His purpose in
your life if you will
simply allow Him.
Don’t try to figure it out.
This is what gets people in
trouble, trying to figure out
how God’s going to do this and
how He’s going to do that.
Well, I wouldn’t
have enough money.
And think about what those
people were thinking.
“Now we’re leaving Egypt,
but where are we going?
At least we have a hut
over our heads.
At least we have
something to do.
Now, where are we going?”
Don’t try to figure out God’s
next step in your life,
just obey Him.
So, God worked in their life
and in situations that all
looked impossible.
What is it that kept Moses’
feet on the ground
and his heart toward God?
That is, “I am the Lord,
I am the Lord, I am the Lord,
I am the Lord.
I’ll take you for My people.
I’ll be your God.
I’ll bring you out.
I’ll give you a possession.
I’ll harden Pharaoh’s heart.”
In other words,
What’s God saying?
This is why’s we start
this message off
and that’s simply this.
The Word of God is
a God-centered book,
with a God-centered message,
for God-centered people.
This is the Book, and this Book
should not be on your shelf,
but on your table or in front
of you, whatever it might be.
What is God saying to you?
You say, “Well, now I don’t know
if that applies to me.”
Yes, it does.
Watch this.
Do you think that God has kept
all this together for all these
years and it not apply to you?
Which part of it
doesn’t apply to you?
Well, you say, “Well,
what about that part about
Daniel being in a Lion’s Den?
That doesn’t apply to me.”
Well, it better apply to you,
for the simple reason
there are lots of dens
besides lion’s dens, amen?
And therefore, if you’re
walking in the will of God,
living in the will of God,
nothing can touch you any more
than could touch Daniel.
This Book is applicable from
beginning to end, in any
situation and circumstance
we’re in.
What else do we need
to know but what?
“I am the Lord.
I will take you.
I’ll be with you.
I’ll bring you; I’ll give you;
I’ll make you.”
God’s awesome promise to us, we
should live by His promises.
So, when somebody says, “Well,
that Old Testament part,
that’s the part
I don’t believe.”
How foolish.
All of that was getting ready
for the coming of Jesus.
All of this, this isn’t just
history, this is life lived out
in the power of God so that you
and I have one example after
example, after example of
God’s grace and love and mercy
and goodness, forgiveness
and cleansing and eternal life.
That’s what this
Book’s all about.
So, if you don’t read the Bible,
you’re just cheating yourself.
And that’s why God,
who knew Moses perfectly,
said to him, “I will, I will,
I will, I will,” eleven times.
That’s just why He said to him,
“I am the Lord.
I am the Lord.
I am the Lord.
I am the Lord,” four times.
Why do you think God says it
so many times?
Because He knows our minds are
so full of so many other things
that He wants to remind us
that He’s still God.
And that He still does
what He promised to do.
That He’s still the God
of the Old Testament
and the New Testament.
He’s the same God who led one
man, one man, who was a shepherd
to free two million people
to serve God.
One man.
Don’t underestimate what God
wants to do in your life.
And don’t listen,
don’t try to compare yourself
with somebody else.
In the mind of God, you don’t
know what’s going to happen
in that person’s life
who’s going to influence
somebody else’s life,
who’s gonna be an influence
in somebody else’s life
in a way that you
and I could never figure out.
And when I read this over and
over, and over, it comes to me
that in these few verses
He says, “I will do to Pharaoh.
I will bring them out.
I will deliver them.
I will redeem them.
I will take you.
I will be your God.
I will bring, give, make.
I’ll do all of those things.”
Why do you think God said
that so many times to him?
Because He knew that Moses
would have a lot of reasons
to doubt Him.
“I was an enemy
and You’re sending me back.
I’m a shepherd.
And besides that,
what a mixed up crowd that is.
Besides that, they’d probably
take my life if I went back.”
Think of all the justifiable
reasons Moses had to say,
“I can’t do that.
That’d be suicide.
I’d make a fool of myself.
They would never accept me.
I’m an enemy.
I couldn’t do that.”
Don’t underestimate
what God will do in your life,
because what you’re doing is,
you’re limiting God.
What you’re doing is,
you’re doubting God.
But He said to him,
“I am the Lord.
I am the Lord.
I am the Lord.
I am the Lord.”
It must have been reiterating in
Moses’ mind night after night,
after night: “I am the Lord.
I am the Lord.
I am the Lord.
I am the Lord.”
Don’t underestimate
what God can do in your life.
It may be that you may have
a conversation with somebody
who would change their life
whom God will use to change
many other people’s lives.
You say, “But I’m–if–”
Mm-mm-mm.
Forget the buts and the ifs
and just say, “Lord, here I am.
Whatever You want to do
in my life, Lord, here I am.
I’m going to trust You, God.
Maybe I haven’t trusted You
many years, but I’m–the rest
of my life, I’m
going to trust You.
I just want to see what
You can do in my life, God.”
You don’t ever have
to worry about God failing.
He will use you beyond
your expression,
if you will trust Him.
And Moses is a perfect
example of it.
Who am I, Lord?
And God showed him.
Who are you?
God’ll show you.
And you can have one
of two responses.
You can walk out of
here thinking,
“Well, that was just a sermon.
That was about Moses.”
No, it’s about you and about me.
It’s about us.
It’s about all of us who name
the name of Jesus as our Savior.
And watch this.
Here’s the reason
it’s so important.
You don’t know what God is going
to do through your life today
that you won’t ever see
a generation from now.
You may be living for today and
God sees that, but He also sees
the influence, the testimony,
your witness
in somebody else’s life.
The important thing is this.
Are you living to the fullest
of your life each day?
So that whatever God has
in mind, He’ll be able to say
to you, “Well done,
my good and faithful servant.”
If I were sitting out there
where you and I were
not a Christian,
here’s the question I’d think.
I’d think, “Well now,
if that’s really the truth,
what should I do?”
And I’ll answer that question.
Surrender your life, to the
Lord Jesus Christ and say,
“Okay, God, here’s what’s left.
Here’s what’s left, Lord.
I give myself to You and
whatever You choose to do,
the answer is yes.”
Maybe you’re already saved, and
you’re sitting here this morning
and you’ve got your life
pretty well planned out,
or you think you have,
or you’ve about figured out when
you think you’re going to die,
how long you’re going to live,
and all those things.
Why don’t you forget all
about that, and for the next
thirty seconds think this,
“God, here I am.”
This is all I have to offer this
morning, but I’m giving You
myself so that, the rest of my
life, demonstrate what You can
do to a man or woman my age,
my capacities, demonstrate
what You can do through me
the rest of my life.
Here I am, in Jesus’s name.
Amen?
Father, we love You and praise
You and bless You for
Your forgiveness and cleansing.
Forgive us, Father,
for our doubts, our fears.
Forgive us for trying to program
our life better than
You’ve programmed it.
Forgive us, Father, for thinking
there are some things You can’t
do in our life, for limiting
Your possibilities, for limiting
Your will in our life.
Father, forgive us for comparing
ourselves with other people,
what they can or cannot do.
Or what we think
we can or cannot do.
Thank You for being
this awesome, indescribable,
invincible God who can do
anything, everything and all
things, and who’s waiting for us
to yield ourselves totally,
completely, and absolutely
to You.
Lord God, may each one of us
afresh and anew this morning
say yes, yes, yes, yes, God,
to whatever You have.
“Yes” is the answer.
Yes, yes, yes!
And then, watch You work
and know in our hearts
You make no mistakes.
You provide all of our needs.
You enable us to do whatever
You require us to do.
And you will reward us
for our obedience.
We just say thank You,
thank You,
thank You for patience, love,
kindness, and generosity.
In Jesus’s name, amen.